Musings | One of those women

by Magdalena on October 26, 2012

My Mitford phase from earlier this year is back! One of the books I hadn’t managed to finish in wave one was The Blessing. It’s full of the amusing aristocratic chroniclings for which Mitford is known so naturally I recommend it. But you already knew that.

In my view, a sign of a great writer is the ability to capture a perspective or emotion in such a way that it stands out for the reader as a great truth or insight. When I read this statement from a dramatic dowager character, it struck me and I immediately emailed it to my sister. It seems to be the kind of thing that any hostess would want to live up to, this notion of atmosphere over arrangement. Beautiful decorating is terrific and we’re all about it, but that’s why good hostesses stand out. They make the house a home with the way they live in their space. I hope friends who squeeze into my little nugget of an apartment (a little over 300 sq. ft. can be challenging!) feel a warmth and happiness when they come over — and not just because it’s small.

That’s enough from my soapbox tonight, it’s Friday baby! Time to have a cocktail and not see Outlook in my field of vision for two whole days! Good luck to all the hosts and hostesses bringing Halloween to life this weekend.